Brad Paisley depended on guitar heroics, humor at New Orleans ...

Brad Paisley interrupted his hit ?I?m Gonna Miss Her? on Saturday night at the New Orleans Arena to announce the final score of the LSU-South Carolina game. Following the predictably robust cheer for the victorious Tigers, he noted, ?Now back to your regularly scheduled program.?

That ?regularly scheduled program? was the typical latter-day Paisley presentation, its defining elements similar to his 2009 show in the same building: Radio hits draped in Southern-flavored sentimentality that is sometimes a Trojan horse for progressive ideas; seemingly effortless strafing runs on his trademark Telecaster guitar; a sly, dry, so-well-rehearsed-it-almost-seems-spontaneous banter; and a high-tech stage ablaze with lasers and large video screens.

His show and banter are designed to allow customization for each market. Thus, he opened, unseen, with a squalling solo guitar ?When the Saints Go Marching In.? In ?Ticks,? perhaps the most unpleasant come-on in contemporary country music, he improvised about ?wanting to see the other half of your LSU tattoo?; two nights earlier in Little Rock, Ark., it was a Razorback tattoo.

He is not above pandering to his audience. In ?This Is Country Music,? he sang, ?It ain?t hip to sing about tractors, trucks, little towns, and mama, yeah, that might be true/But this is country music, and we do.? But he also gently nudges said audience. NASCAR and the late, beloved Andy Griffith factored in video presentations, but so did footage of Civil Rights marches in ?Welcome to the Future.? His new single ?Southern Comfort Zone? sang the sentimental praises of Dixie, but also advocated leaving said comfort zone behind to learn and grow in the rest of the world.

Paisley is exceedingly comfortable onstage, and off. He made multiple forays onto runways that descended down to the arena floor. He hustled to a satellite stage at the rear of the floor for a brief acoustic set, saying he wanted to play to the folks in the cheap seats, the seats where a pre-fame Paisley once sat during concerts. He addressed his 17-year-old self with a solo acoustic ?Letter to Me,? a response to the myth that high school represents the best years of life. ?It?s not,? Paisley said. ?Now college?.?

He noted the advantages of fame before spoofing them in ?Celebrity.? ?You can be in love with a vampire, then cheat with the director of your next movie,? he quipped, a reference to ?Twilight? star Kristen Stewart. In the accompanying video, a life-size Paisley bobblehead misbehaved badly, something the real Paisley, who prides himself on his smarts, discipline and drive, is highly unlike to do.

Paisley made his bones not just via his mass-appeal contemporary country singles. He is also regarded as one of Nashville?s most accomplished pickers. Keith Urban is one of his few peers among country music?s male leads.

Paisley made shredding look easy as he handled most guitar leads and solos himself. He beefed up ?Ticks? with tight clusters of notes and a tidy solo. Later, he traded licks with his pedal steel guitarist in a nimble exchange. He almost made it look too easy. While his cascades were technically impressive, he never conjured as much emotion as several of Urban?s solos did during the Bayou Country Superfest in Baton Rouge in May.

A virtual, video Carrie Underwood appeared to reprise her ?Remind Me? duet with Paisley. Scotty McCreery and Kimberly Perry of the Band Perry, the evening?s opening acts, joined in at various points, including on the finale, ?Alcohol.?

In ?Alcohol,? Paisley chronicled how booze can be both medicine and poison. Earlier, speaking of his show, he professed that, ?Between our music and beer, you have the opportunity to forget anything you want.?

With that statement, as in much of the show, he tapped into country clich?, even as he moved beyond it.

Keith Spera can be reached at kspera@nola.com or 504.826.3470. Follow him on Twitter at KeithSperaTP.

?

Source: http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2012/10/brad_paisley_depended_on_guita.html

daughtry lakers trade ann arbor news ides of march elizabeth smart nick young south dakota state